Photos by Moonachie homeowner Franklin Davis show trellises put up by his neighbor on the bottom, and bushes that were growing over Davis' fence before the trellises were installed.

MOONACHIE — It sounds like a scene out of a Hollywood film: Neighbor grows annoyed by overgrown bushes hanging on his fence, so he trims them; other neighbor puts up trellis to stop him; first neighbor grabs a power saw and cuts trellis down in a fit of anger.

But this is real life. And when 34-year-old Franklin Davis chopped down George and Catherine Cahill's lattice-style trellises last weekend, it was no laughing matter. Davis wound up in handcuffs in the back of a police car, charged with criminal mischief.

The neighborly dispute escalated after months of complaints lodged by Davis with borough officials over the size of the trellises, which rise above the 6-foot fence line.

Davis, whose home on Moonachie Road is adjacent to the Cahill property, called the structures an "unsightly" violation of the borough's fence height restriction.

The Cahills, who live on Bruno Street, said they were simply protecting their decade-old bushes that Davis occasionally trimmed without their permission.

Davis said he grew frustrated by what he claimed was Moonachie's lack of action and favoritism for George Cahill, a former two-term councilman.

The Cahills and borough officials denied those claims. And in the end, the building inspector ruled that the trellises were legal.

"We don't want to drag this thing out," said Catherine Cahill, whose sawed-off trellises have been returned to their original position, albeit a little crooked.

For his part, Davis said he is embarrassed. "Everybody's looking out their windows while I'm put in the back of a police car."

Davis said he wouldn't have cut the trellises if the building department had responded to his complaints in a timely manner. Around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, he plugged in his reciprocating saw and cut the trellises down. But he had to climb a chain-link fence separating his property from the wooden fence over the Cahills' property line.

"I did have a feeling that I could get in trouble," he said. "I did know that it was wrong to do it. But out of frustration, I felt I needed to take matters into my own hands."

Davis moved into his home in February but began doing work on the house after he and his wife purchased it last October. He says they had to cut tree limbs from the Cahill property that grew over onto a garage in his back yard, and that's when the relationship with his new neighbors went south.

Then, he said, the bushes started creeping over the fence. He trimmed those, too. But it was the trellises that prompted his complaints to the building department as early as March.

The building inspector did respond to his complaint, in May, sending the Cahills a notice to take down the trellises, based on photographs Davis sent.

Michael Sartori, the inspector, sent a report warning the Cahills of a $500-per-day fine for not complying with the fence height restriction. But after the Cahills asked for an on-site inspection, Sartori deemed the trellises legal because they are raised on posts positioned away from the fence.

Davis said he was unaware of the visit, assuming for months that Moonachie officials were not doing anything about his concerns.

Furthermore, Davis alleged that the change of heart about the violation by Sartori and other borough officials came only after it was discovered that George Cahill lived at the home. Sartori denied that claim on Thursday and said Davis wasn't home when he tried to deliver his findings about the trellises.

The Cahills would not comment on the allegations, other than to deny they have ever received favoritism from borough officials.

Mayor Dennis Vaccaro, who Davis says brushed off his accusations of favoritism, could not be reached for comment.

Davis said he is saddened by the whole situation.

"I really just want to put a for-sale sign on my lawn and move out of this town," he said. "I don't want them to hold this whole situation against me."